Minding many minds: An assessment of mental health and resilience among undergraduate and graduate students; a mixed methods exploratory study

J Am Coll Health. 2022 Apr;70(3):898-910. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2020.1781134. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Abstract

Objective/ParticipantsThe American College Health Association (ACHA) found that 65.4% of Ontario (Canada) students feel overwhelming anxiety and 89.5% of students feel overwhelmed by all of their obligations. Thus, this study assessed the current state of full-time undergraduate (UGS) and graduate students' (GS) mental health and resilience.MethodsA total of 598-796 UGS and GS completed three questionnaires (BRS, MHI, and SF-36) and a demographic questionnaire, which were distributed campus-wide. Focus groups/individual interviews (n = 30) explored students' mental health- and resilience-related experiences.Results/ConclusionsQuantitatively, participants produced normal levels of resilience on the BRS, below-the-norm levels of anxiety on the MHI, and above-the-norm levels of physical functioning, but below-the-norm levels of six mental-health-related constructs on the SF-36. Qualitatively, GS and UGS felt physical activity (PA) benefited their mental health and resilience, and voiced the need for more counselors. Overall, participants' mental health and resilience were similar to the population.

Keywords: : Graduate students; mental health; physical activity; resilience; undergraduate students.

MeSH terms

  • Anxiety
  • Humans
  • Mental Health*
  • Students* / psychology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Universities